Three Ships 10 years

Back in 2003, the first South African single malt whisky was released in the form of Three Ships 10 Year Old. Produced at the James Sedgwick distillery in Wellington, they also have three blends: one 100% SA blend that is bourbon cask finished and two SA / Scottish blends: a 5 yo and one called Three Ships Select.

Three Ships 10 yo (43%, OB 2012)

Nose: rather fresh and estery. Peaches, pear drops, apples. Also orange blossom. Not overly sweet , there’s a faint coastalness and even a whiff of peat. Honey and cake. Polished wood in the background. Pleasant enough.

Mouth: again rather simple and harmless but enjoyable. Fresh fruity notes, wine gums and candy sugar. Cake again. Very smooth, but it lacks something to make it stand out.

Finish: rather short, rounded with very soft spices like ginger and liquorice.

This is fairly inoffensive whisky, a bit of a paper tiger that can’t be faulted but probably won’t grab your attention for a long time either. A lot of countries succeed in producing well-made whisky these days, but most of them fail to be more than a curiosum in my opinion. Around € 50.